Archive for July 2012

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Foreign ‘traffic cop’ wins big audience

27/07/2012

A huge foreigner has stirred public imagination after being featured on VOVgiaothong.vn, the Voice of Viet Nam’s traffic web site.  The website released a short clip of the man acting as a traffic policeman in a one-way street. It shows a real scene at the intersection of Tran Binh Trong and Tran Nhan Tong streets in Ha Noi on July 2.

When I read this story, the first thought that popped into my head was that a crazy “huge foreigner” (note:  I had to chuckle at this description because most foreigners here are “huge” in comparison to the mostly diminutive Vietnamese) had lost it, decided to take the law into his own hands and was making a desperate (and futile) attempt to force Vietnamese drivers to become like those in his home country of Germany.  (Having lived in Germany, I can attest to the fact that it is quite orderly but the same applies to the US, at least in comparison to Vietnam.)  Was he drunk?  Was he on something?  Or did he just snap? 

After I watched the video, I began to empathize with this citizen-policeman and root him on.  (So did more than a few Vietnamese.)  As anyone who has visited Vietnam in recent years knows, the order to traffic here is that there is no order.  There is all manner of vehicles and too little space in which to operate them in most places.  (Vietnam has 91 million and is half the size of Texas, whose population is 27% that of Vietnam’s.)   

Most people do what they want when they want to do it.  They also do whatever they can get away with and whatever does not defy the laws of physics.  (Even those limits are tested sometimes.)  It’s “I, me, mine” and to hell with everyone else.  Everyone’s a VIP and might makes right, meaning that the hierarchy is determined by the size of vehicle and the risks that vehicle’s driver is willing to take.  

Photo Courtesy of Voice of Vietnam (VOV)

Check out this article with embedded video of the huge foreigner “doin’ his thang.”

MAA

P.S.:  I reserve the right to exercise my right to freedom of speech and occasionally write about non-education-related topics.  One connection between traffic, with the large numbers of expensive cars that have appeared in recent years, is that they are a sign of an expanding economy - formal, informal and underground.  This, in turn, relates to a growing ability to pay for overseas education, for example.

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To Emigrate or Not to Emigrate, That is The Question (With Apologies to Mr. Shakespeare)

23/07/2012

“Hoa” at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

I recently received an email from a Vietnamese student (I’ll call her “Hoa”) who just earned her bachelor’s degree in the US.  Hers is the story of many young Vietnamese who study overseas, which is why I want to share it with you.  I’ve changed the names to protect the innocent.  :-)

Hoa writes: 

I am a Communication (Advertising/PR) major and I want to pursue a career in the US. I would feel very lost if I have to go back to work in Vietnam. The majority of writing I did in my undergrad is in English; I don’t even have writing samples in Vietnamese. The social networks and media that I’ve got so used to here aren’t even popular in Vietnam.

Hoa is a graduate of one of Vietnam’s talented and gifted high schools, where she majored in English as a second language. Most of her classmates (about 18 out of 30) knew that they would study in the US.  She chose a private liberal college on the West Coast and also studied for a semester at a public university on the East Coast while doing an internship in her chosen field.  

Hoa and a number of her high school classmates graduated this May. Some have returned to Vietnam and the rest are getting jobs in the US.  Of the 18 students, eight (8) have landed jobs in the US, five have returned to Vietnam and five will graduate in 2013.  Most of the latter are interested in pursuing careers in Europe.  Thus, 13 out of 18, or 72% of that graduating class of 30, will likely end up living and working overseas. 

She continues: 

I’ve known for a long time, even before I came to the US, that I want to live here. Kind of a silly thing.  Even though I’ve grown a lot and my perception has changed in the last four years, that still holds true. I chose to major in Communication (Journalism and Advertising/PR) because 1) I like writing; and 2) I love fashion and want to work in the field.

My parents were educated in Russia, and I consider them to be very open-minded and progressive. When I made the decision to major in Communication, my mother was very supportive.  (She works for an NGO in Vietnam and earned her Master’s degree from a online program offered by a US university.)  But my dad was a bit doubtful. I get where he’s coming from. He studied Electrical Engineering and ended up working in the IT field.   He just didn’t understand what kind of solid career path I could pursue with this degree, especially if I had to return to Vietnam. PR is still a novel concept, and magazine publishing isn’t that strong either. 

The first two summers of college I went back to Vietnam. The vacation was great, but I had a very hard time finding relevant internships. My aunt tried to get me into the translating department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where people didn’t take me seriously or assign me any work. I tried interviewing with VTV, but it didn’t work out. I was told that it was impossible to work at Heritage (Vietnam Airlines magazine) because it was plagued with nepotism. I was so confused and disappointed. Considering how competent and willing I was, I didn’t understand why I couldn’t find anything. The only serious project I was involved with was collaborating with a well-known brand image consultancy firm, but it was too short and didn’t lead to anything. It dawned on me that many opportunities in Communication and Media are in Ho Chi Minh City. And I just didn’t want to be apart from my family and friends in Hanoi. 

On the other hand, there’re many available opportunities for me in the US. At school, I wrote and edited for the student newspaper for three semesters. I had internships at a fashion + entertainment news website, a start-up fashion e-commerce website and a Los Angeles-based PR agency.  It is challenging to find satisfying internships and it took some branching out, but it IS possible. People here take internships seriously and value my work. Besides, there’s also the fact that you will not be able to get a job without prior internship experience.

In January, I made a bold decision to move to New York City.  I barely knew anyone here & NYC is quite an intimidating city. I interned at a fashion company that I hated because all they wanted us to do was run errands. The other internship at a hosiery distributor worked out much better. And I recently got an offer from a brand management agency. I have a paid full-time internship for three months and will then be hired full-time.

My point is, considering how much experience I’ve got in the US (academic aside), it has become my world. And what goes on in the job market in Vietnam seems so distant – even though that’s where I came from. Sure, it’s tough to find jobs in the US but at least I know what’s expected of me, e.g. writing, blogging, computer/graphic design, social media skills, etc.  I have tried and failed.  I feel rewarded when I succeed because I know it reflects my hard work (not to say that I’m not tremendously grateful for my parents’ financial and emotional support). I know I was blessed with a gift in that I speak English with almost no accent, and my writing is better than a number of college-educated Americans. I feel that I have earned my place here, and I will try to make sure that I can stay and work in the US. 

The reasons Hoa has decided to remain in the US can be summed up as follows:

  1. Excellent preparation in terms of fluency in American English, educational background, and professional experience gained through internships in her field (Conversely, I would feel very lost if I have to go back to work in Vietnam. The majority of writing I did in my undergrad is in English; I don’t even have writing samples in Vietnamese.)
  2. Limited opportunities in her field in Vietnam and conversely more opportunities in the US (PR is still a novel concept, and magazine publishing isn’t that strong either.)
  3. Stronger personal and professional network in the US (The social networks and media that I’ve got so used to here aren’t even popular in Vietnam.)
  4. Sense of being judged and rewarded (or not) based on her knowledge, skills, and experience (i.e., merit) rather than who she knows or is related to, as is often the case in Vietnam (i.e., cronyism, nepotism) – People here take internships seriously and value my work.

This is another example of an international student who was issued a nonimmigrant visa and yet, for personal and professional reasons, most of which are described above, will probably be able to navigate her way from a F-1 to an H-1B (for temporary employment of foreign workers) to a green card and, eventually, citizenship, if she so desires. 

It’s also yet another case of brain circulation (i.e., the company she is interning and will later work for is a multinational with offices in New York, Paris, Mumbai, Singapore, etc.), as well as brain drain in that the United States’ gain is Vietnam’s loss. 

MAA

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SJR Excellence Scholarship Recipient Meets Canadian Ambassador

15/07/2012

Pham Quynh Anh & Ambassador Chatsis at the Canadian Embassy in Hanoi.

On a recent sunny afternoon in Hanoi, Pham Quynh Anh, who was awarded the SJR Excellence Scholarship, the most generous scholarship ever awarded to a Vietnamese student, had the opportunity to meet with Deborah Chatsis, the Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam.  It was a chance for Ambassador Chatsis to congratulate Quynh Anh on this extraordinary achievement and to wish her well as she embarks upon a life-changing adventure.  At the end of the summer, she will travel across 12 time zones to begin her studies and life at  St. John’s-Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg (Manitoba), one of Canada’s leading independent schools. 

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts and in this recent press release, the SJR Excellence Scholarship, funded by a SJR alumnus who has been successful doing business in Vietnam, enables Quynh Anh to complete the 12th grade at SJR and attend any university in the world, all expenses paid. 

I’m grateful to Ambassador Chatsis for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with us and chat with Quynh Anh. 

 

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The Creative Kid Project – Build Your Dream School

13/07/2012

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  (Lao-tzu, 604 BC-531 BC)

The Creative Kid Project is an inspiring and much-needed program being organized and implemented by Vietnamese students and colleagues from Brown University.  Below is the description in its entirety.  My company, Capstone Vietnam, is proud to be a sponsor of this visionary project.  

The Project

Kids are creative by nature, but they need to see that they can affect change and be taken seriously by adults in order to fully develop their ideas. The Creative Kid Project seeks to help secondary school students use their innate creativity to improve one of the institutions they know best: school.

Most kids spend the majority of their time in school learning from teachers and socializing with each other; however, they are rarely given the opportunity to contribute to or shape their learning environments. The Creative Kid Project will push students to think critically about their education, the ways in which it could be made better, and it will help students to develop the skills and confidence to start implementing their ideas.

The Plan

This July, we will partner with Thuc Nghiem Middle-School, Hanoi to pilot The Creative Kid Project (CKP). Thirty 13-15-year-old students, selected by application from Hanoi middle schools, will come together for a 6-day program focusing on creative problem-solving skills. We hope to form a core team of young students (high school or university students) that could work directly with the kids as well as a team of experienced adult advisors to further develop this plan. This project is meant to serve as a proof-of-concept that, if successful, could continue to develop or spread in Hanoi as well as other cities.

The daily program will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions and the content and structure will be loosely based on the Vietnam Youth Forum, TEDx Youth, and Camp Rising Sun (in the U.S. and Denmark).  In the mornings, through mini-presentations and small-group activities, students learn soft skills, such as how to brainstorm or effectively organize a group. In the afternoon, groups of students work to apply new skills towards building specific proposals for their school. On the final day, students will present their proposal to their teachers and school administrations.

The core skills are as follows:

  1. Identifying Issues – framing problem, asking questions (why/why not), brainstorming (think big, think small, “think wrong”)
  2. Collaborating and Organizing Groups — building a team, leading and following
  3. Developing Plans — systems thinking, research skills, design thinking
  4. Engaging with Decision-Makers — approaching and communicating with adults
  5. Preparing Presentations — making concise arguments, designing, drawing, modeling
  6. Pitching Proposals — public speaking, persuasive communication

 These project modes are intended as parts of a toolkit that students can practice within the program and take with them to be effective and creative problem-solvers afterwards. We hope that students will absorb these skills and build the self-confidence to further develop and apply them throughout the rest of school and life.

The Team

We are a group of students from universities in Vietnam and the U.S. with a strong interest in education, child development, and unconventional thinking. With the support from the Watson Institute of International Studies – Brown University and the Louise August Jonas Foundation , we hope to create a meaningful summer project for kids.

Linh Dao is an International Development major who loves kids, music and conversations. She is currently working with Dr. Martin Gardiner at Brown to research the influence of music education on the cognitive development of preschool children. Before Brown, she helped to organize the first Vietnam Youth Forum and studied at the Mahindra United World College of India, an international high school focused on teaching students to be global change-makers.

Evan Schwartz is studying Education and Political Economy and is a leader of a group called The Brown Conversation, which seeks to do the same for university students as The Creative Kid Project would do for younger students. He is from the U.S. and was a three-time participant in the Camp Rising Sun international summer leadership program and a visiting counselor during three other summers. As this is his first trip to Vietnam, Evan will serve primarily as an advisor while he tries to learn as much as he can about Vietnam’s history, culture, education system and, in particular, food.  (Here’s a 29 June post by Evan on Global Conversation entitled Maybe the Premises Are Wrong - Bustle, Bánh Mì, and Big Questions.) 

Suong Tran is a rising senior, economics major and mass communication minor at Washington and Lee University. She was a co-founder of the Fun Recycle project, which helped raise awareness of recycling to protect the environment through fun educational activities for kids.

Trang Nguyen is a junior at Foreign Trade University, majoring in International Economics and Business. She was an active member of English Club at Foreign Trade University and has many experiences in organizing events, including workshops and competitions for English learners. She has also worked with children on various occasions as teaching assistant and volunteer.

Hoa Nguyen is a rising sophomore, majoring in Applied Mathematics-Economics at Brown University. She loves interacting with children, and she has worked with children in a variety of tutoring schemes and projects. Before Brown, she was a recipient of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Scholarship and the founder of a creative fundraising scheme for autistic children called “Hands Up For Autism” in Singapore.

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“In Vietnam, P&G Woos Hearts, Minds, and Schools”

12/07/2012

Aside from the title of this 5 July Bloomberg Businessweek article, an unfortunate play on what has been described as a “short-lived campaign by the United States military during the Vietnam War intended to win the popular support of the Vietnamese people,” I always have mixed feelings when I read about this type of project.  While it’s great that a new kindergarten was built with 80% of the funding coming from money raised by Procter & Gamble (P&G) employees, one of my fears is that political propaganda will be replaced by corporate propaganda.  The school has classrooms with slogans such as “Gillette Be Your Best,” “Pampers Golden Sleep,” and “Pantene Shine.”  What’s next?  Texbooks with P&G advertisements, daily announcements about P&G products, P&G-sponsored exams? 

Courtesy of Bloomberg Businessweek.

As one of the analysts quoted in the article put it, “They have to do this propaganda-esque process to eventually have a consumer who wants to buy their products.  It’s a time-tested tool that companies use.”  Iwasn’t born yesterday so I understand that there are always strings attached when corporations make donations to the public or non-profit sector but I’m concerned about the influence of the private sector on the public sector and the rise of school-industry propaganda.  In a poor country like Vietnam it’s easy to buy influence.  While consumers are much more sophisticated now than they were five (5) or 10 years ago, it’s still a bit like taking candy from a baby.  I’d prefer that companies like P&G stay out of schools and promote their products the old-fashioned way.  My hope, unrealistic as it is in a situation that involves money and other goodies, is that the government will find a way to prevent companies, domestic or multinational, from taking the path of least resistance in promoting their products and services. 

This is my favorite part of the article:

That evening, in a driving rain, a few hundred villagers gather under a tent in the courtyard of the kindergarten to watch students and teachers perform dances and songs. P&G’s Henretta (Deb Henretta, group president of P&G’s Asia business) is among those invited onto a makeshift stage to talk about the company. As she holds up products from its Tide, Downy, Rejoice, Gillette, Safeguard, and Oral-B brands, Henretta asks the audience to clap if they recognize them. Meanwhile, some of the P&G volunteers mime washing their clothes or hair to make sure everyone understands their use.

The evening ends with everyone hopping through a row of parallel bamboo poles in a traditional dance, as P&G’s volunteers shout a refrain from a song, “Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh! Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh!”

I love the imagery and the symbolism. P&G and Uncle Ho working hand-in-hand!

MAA

P.S.:  If you know Asia, you know that “white is beautiful,” which is why P&G is “betting on the appetite in Vietnam for premium brands—such as its Olay skin whiteners…”  The irony is that a lot of white women spend hours in the sun and in tanning salons in order to have the skin color that a lot of Vietnamese women have naturally.

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4 Benefits for International Students at U.S. High Schools

09/07/2012

It was interesting to see a recent US News & World Report article about the benefits for international students who study at US high schools, which are well-known to those of us who work in the field. 

1. English language training
2. Pre-college navigation
3. College readiness
4. Social acculturation

The chance to interact with American teens in high school can help international students before they enter college. (Courtesy of US News & World Report)

There has been a dramatic upswing in the number of Vietnamese high school students leaving, in some cases, some of the finest high schools in the country (e.g., talented and gifted schools) to complete their education at a US high school.  Many wealthy Vietnamese choose to send their sons and daughters to boarding schools that range from $40,000-50,000 a year. 

Other options include public high schools that accept international students and arrange homestays and high school completion programs, mainly in Washington (WA) state, that enable students to earn a WA high school diploma and an associate’s degree in two (2) years, assuming their English proficiency meets the admission requirement.   Most high school completion programs are around $20,000 per year, all-inclusive.  The cost of attending a public high school is considerably less than a private day school or boarding school. 

As a Study in the States summary of the article points out, an international student can apply for an F-1 visa to attend a public secondary school (grades 9 -12) that is Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified.  Regulations require that an F student may only attend public school for a maximum period of 12 months and that the student must reimburse the full, per-capita cost of attending.
 
An international student also has the option of attending an SEVP-certified private school as an F student. Unlike when attending a public school, an F student who attends a private school may attend for longer than 12 months.

The points described in the article, the general dissatisfaction with upper secondary education in Vietnam and the lack of international-standard high schools, combined with the growing ability to pay in recent years, are the driving forces behind this growth trend for Vietnamese students. 

MAA

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“ADB Study Highlights Dark Side of ‘Shadow Education’”

08/07/2012

It sounds ominous and is certainly an issue worth delving into but there are much “darker sides” related to corruption in education in Vietnam and other countries.  Put colloquially, there are much bigger fish to fry than private tutoring.  Let’s take a look at the main conclusion and key points of this Asian Development Bank report.  My responses are in italics. 

“Shadow education” is less about remedial help for students and much more about competition and creation of differentials

It may:

  • dominate the lives of young people and their families: There is a cause-and-effect relationship here.  In Vietnam and other Asian countries the educational systems are exam-driven.  Those who teach privately are simply responding to demand on the part of students and their parents. 
  • maintain and exacerbate social inequalities: Yes, because these services are based on the ability to pay.  They are a negligible part of larger picture of factors that “maintain and exacerbate social inequalities.” 
  • divert needed household income into an unregulated industry:  For most families this is yet another example of disposable income.  The industry may be unregulated but the consumers (parents/students) are well-aware aware of who the best teachers/tutors are.  They, in turn, command higher fees, which provide an important supplement to their meager public school salaries.   
  • and create inefficiencies in education systems.  Private tutoring serves two main purposes:  1) to supplement what students are learning in school; and, yes, 2) to give them a them a competitive edge on exams. 

One additional point:

Demand for private tutoring is partly driven by negative perceptions of traditional schooling and the belief that extra lessons are essential for academic success.   True!  The negative perceptions are based on reality. 

Like many things in life, there is something to be said for moderation in the use of private tutors.   There is a tendency among many parents in Vietnam to over-program their children in the hopes that they will have better opportunities, educational and otherwise.  The end result is that many are overscheduled and stressed out.

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“Patent Pending: How Immigrants Are Reinventing The American Economy”

04/07/2012

While this is not exactly breaking news, I am pleased to see how this trend is being documented in order to build an even stronger case for visa policy reform.  It’s an issue that unites key business and political leaders, including President Obama, as well as professional associations such as NAFSA:  Association of International Educators. 

This report, issued by The Partnership for a New American Economy, a nonprofit organization that “brings together a bipartisan group of mayors from across the country and business leaders from all sectors of the economy and all 50 states to raise awareness of the economic benefits of sensible immigration reform,” examines the contribution of foreign-born inventors to the American economy. From more efficient ways to purify seawater to metals that can be molded like plastic, the report highlights several immigrant inventors behind some of the most cutting-edge technologies. These foreign-born inventors are fueling patent awards at the top patent-producing universities, and their new innovations and new companies are advancing American industries and creating American jobs.  (Two co-chairs of The Partnership are Steven A. Ballmer, CEO,  Microsoft Corporation and Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City.)  
 
Key findings of the report include:

  • More than three out of every four patents at the top 10 patent-producing US universities (76%) had at least one foreign-born inventor.
  • More than half of all patents (54%) were awarded to the group of foreign inventors most likely to face visa hurdles: students, postdoctoral fellows, or staff researchers.
  • Foreign-born inventors played especially large roles in cutting-edge fields like semiconductor device manufacturing (87%), information technology (84%), pulse or digital communications (83%), pharmaceutical drugs or drug compounds (79%), and optics (77%).
  • The almost 1,500 patents awarded to these universities boasted inventors from 88 different countries.

The Times They Are a-Changin’

Support for student visa policy reform also comes from the most unlikely of places, namely, The White House.  In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama made two references to international students.  The first is that the US is “home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth.”  The second is about international students who end up competing against the US (my italics).

One last point about education.  Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens…  Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities.  But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us.  It makes no sense. 

One change, which appears to be a direct result of the President’s remarks, is a new multi-agency initiative called Study in the States , launched in September 2011 by the Department of Homeland Security “to enhance our nation’s economic, scientific and technological competitiveness by finding new, innovative ways to encourage the best and brightest international students to study and remain in the United States.”  (I discussed this in a previous post.) 

The fact of the matter is the US population is graying with a median age of 37 (2011).  That, combined with the lack of young Americans studying certain key subjects, means that the US desperately needs a certain percentage of international students to stay, work and emigrate. 

Ultimately, emigration is a personal issue.  Many international students, including those from Vietnam, choose to remain in the US for a whole host of reasons, including a lack of opportunity in their chosen field(s) at home, offers to good to refuse in America, the inability to find their niche, which some discover while doing summer internships, and love, among other reasons. 

The day will come, out of economic and therefore political necessity, when the student visa interview will focus exclusively on 1) the applicant’s status as a “bona fide student;” and 2) her/his ability to pay.  Whether or not students intend to return to their home countries after graduation will no longer enter into the equation.  This happens regardless:  they dutifully play the game of promising to return home, whether or not that is their true intention.  A policy change will simply make it easier for international students, especially those in certain fields, to emigrate, if they so desire, and will represent an official recognition of a longstanding reality. 

MAA

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US Nationalism

03/07/2012

As the 4th of July approaches, I thought it would be a fitting time to share something I’ve noticed in my statistics:  US nationalism frequently ranks among the top ten search engine terms that lead many people to my blog.  By entering this term in Google, Yahoo or wherever, they’re obviously interested in learning more about the topic.   They’re also on to  something.   

If you were to ask US Americans if they are nationalistic, most would give you a quizzical look, say “No” and perhaps add a reference about love of country.  The reality is quite different based on survey research, anecdotal evidence and government (e.g., foreign) policy.  If there were global rankings based on nationalism, the US would surely rank among the top five.

Since An International Educator in Vietnam focuses mainly on issues related to US-Vietnam educational exchange, it’s not exactly a treasure trove of information about US nationalism.  I do have a mid-March 2012 post entitled Talking Nationalism, Patriotism and Global Citizenship with US Students in Vietnam that scratches the surfaces.  In it I discuss the key differences between patriotism and nationalism, and the resulting implications for the development of global competence and citizenship. 

According to a standard dictionary definition, the distinction between patriotism and nationalism is clear. Patriotism is defined simply as “love for or devotion to one’s country.”  This is generally thought of as a benign, sentimental, and inward-looking form of national pride. As such, it does not exclude an openness to and even embrace of other cultures, their values, and the concerns and needs of their members.

In a 2003 essay titled A Kinder, Gentler Patriotism, the late U.S. historian Howard Zinn speaks of the need to redefine patriotism and notes that “if national boundaries should not be obstacles to trade—we call it globalization—should they also not be obstacles to compassion and generosity? Should we not begin to consider all children, everywhere, as our own? In that case, war, which in our time is always an assault on children, would be unacceptable as a solution to the problems of the world. Human ingenuity would have to search for other ways.” Patriotism, as defined above, does not preclude the globalization of compassion and generosity.

In contrast, nationalism is described as loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.  It is the second italicized part that distinguishes nationalism from its less strident and bellicose cousin, patriotism. Exaltation of one nation over another automatically assumes a degree of cultural superiority, a lack of openness and objectivity, and the assumption that “others” wish to be like us and, by extension, the desire to mold them in our image (i.e., missionary nationalism). 

By the way, if you’re interested in seeing what a political manifestation of US nationalism looks like in its purest form, check out the website of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world…  (PNAC offers up a blueprint of the neoconversative vision of the world that resulted in the  US invasion and occupation of Iraq.) 

Send me an email, if you’re interested in having a dialogue about this important issue.  I’d also be happy to send you an English or Vietnamese PDF of a related book chapter I co-authored entitled “Developing Globally Competent Citizens: The Contrasting Cases of the United States and Vietnam” (with Duong Thi Hoanh Oanh), which appeared in The SAGE Handbook of Intercultural Competence (2009). 

Happy 236th Birthday, America, a mortal nation among nations (with thanks to Anatole Lieven)!

MAA

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